


That Was That

by loud_as_lions



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: But it's there, Homophobia, This is only the beginning, i mostly had to write it for myself to get used to writing them, it's just fluff for now, it's not too bad just a few lines, there will be more plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-07-07 02:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loud_as_lions/pseuds/loud_as_lions
Summary: WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot had to become an iconic trio somehow. But, first, they had to learn to navigate their unorthodox friendship.





	1. This Could Be The Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first time posting an omgcp fic, so I'm really excited and nervous, yay!
> 
> It's also my first time writing any of these characters, so let me know what I need to work on for their characterization! 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio forming, in Tango's point of view.

   Tony Tangredi had never really believed in meant to be. That is, until Connor and Ford. He was instantly drawn to them, and he'd known it then and there. They would be in his life, some way, some how. That was just it.

* * *

   He’d latched onto Connor right from their Taddy Tour, because of his cool nature.

   Frankly, Tony was used to being the annoying one. He was an anxious boy, he’d struggled with it a lot when he was younger, but towards the end of high school he’d learned that a way to help lessen his anxiety was to find out everything he could about situations and people beforehand, so that he was prepared for most things. He was a naturally curious person, anyway, always ready to learn. So, he asked a lot of questions. He knew he did it, and that it bothered people sometimes, but he didn’t quite get why. It's not like it hurt to know more.

   On the Taddy Tour, Tony had been a little worried about his questions. He didn’t know anyone yet, and didn’t want any of the others, possibly his future teammates, to think he was a bother- at least, not yet.

   And Connor had appeared so cool. Calm, but not quite detached in a way that suggested arrogance or an uncaring nature. Interested but not too interested. Exactly how Tony always wanted to come off, but always failed. They ended up standing near each other a lot as Bitty showed them around, and Tony noticed that Connor never once rolled his eyes or sighed or even looked moderately bothered when Tony asked a question.

   Looking back, that's definitely what drew him to Connor the most.

   At the end of the tour, Tony couldn’t resist asking Connor if he thought Samwell was for him.

   Connor shrugged. “Not sure. Still got other schools to see." and then, a beat, "Do you?”

   Tony smiled. “I think so. It’s got a nice vibe.”

   “Yeah,” Connor smirked back, “It is pretty s'wawesome”

   When his mom came to pick him up from the bus station after the tour, Tony asked how soon they could pay his enrollment deposit.

   When he got to Samwell in late August, he spotted the name 'Connor Whisk' scrawled on a door dec down the hall from his own room. Tony grinned.

   They bumped into each other on their way out of the building for their first practice of the season. Tony smiled at Connor. "Samwell ended up making the best impression after all?" he smirked.

   Connor gave him a small smile. "I never ended up going on any of the other tours."

   "S'wawesome." Tony chuckled.

   And that was that.

* * *

 

   Ford was... well, she was something else. The first time he encountered her was when she shouted during her manager meeting. It sounds dumb, but that was the start.

   "Call time is 4:30 sharp!" rang right through his heart. He immediately moved to the kitchen doorway, to the source of the shout.

   He saw Lardo, Bitty, and Dex there- all looking in awe at an unfamiliar girl- the presumed shouter. "Yes, ma'am." he told her, blinking. Tony had no idea what a call time was, but he'd be there at 4:30 if it killed him.

   He didn't really _meet_ her until later that week. Lardo had introduced her to everyone at the following Sunday's Team Brunch, and Tony was taken aback by how kind she was. Not that he expected her to be mean or anything. But, she was somewhere between Bitty and Chower-level sweet, and that was hard to come by in general, let alone by someone who had startled him out of his wits a few days before.

   "Hi there. Ford, right?" Tony asked, extending his hand to her.

   Ford smiled up at him. "Yeah. Nice to see you again, Tony."

   Tony blinked at her, mind racing. Did they... know each other?

   "Oh, I'm sorry." Ford frowned a little, "Do you prefer Tango?"

   Tony blinked again. "No preference, just... nobody on the team calls me by my real name. How'd you..."

   "The first thing I did was memorize everyone's names." she shrugged, as if memorizing an entire hockey team's names was an easy feat. Tony got the feeling that maybe, for her, it was.

   "Wow. That's pretty cool of you." he hesitated for a moment, looking over his shoulder into the living room. "We were going to play MarioKart. Want to join us?" he offered.

   Ford returned his smile, nodding, and followed Tony into the living room where Whiskey was already setting up the Wii.

   She plopped down in the middle of the couch, and Tango took the seat next to her. Connor smiled over at them, handing Ford his controller and getting up to get the spare for himself.

   "Ready to eat my dust, Team Manager?" Tango asked.

   Ford gave a wicked grin, and hit start.

   An hour later, Ford had beaten both boys in every course on the game. The Frogs had come in to join them at some point, but the Taddies were battling so intensely for first place that even Dex and Nursey couldn't deal with the competitive tension in the room.

   Standing, Ford stretched her hands high above her head. "Well, it's been nice playing with you, boys." she smirked.

   Connor looked up at her, then got off the couch and onto his knees, bowing in front of her. "It's been an honor, Kart God."

   Quickly, Tony got up and mimicked him, bowing at Ford's feet as well. "All hail!"

   Tony peeked up and saw that she was grinning ear to ear. "You can rise, my dear subjects. Your god has to go get ready for rehearsal." she told them, and the two boys got up, Tango slumping back onto the couch.

   "It was cool hanging with you, Ford." Connor told her, flopping down on top of Tony, who groaned under his friend's weight.

   "You too. I'll see you boys later." she waved over her shoulder as she headed back into the kitchen, presumably to say goodbye to Bitty before she left.

   Tango looked down at Whiskey in his lap, eyebrows raised in a silent question. Whiskey gave him a smile and a small nod. Tango grinned.

   And that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! It's cheesy and it's not much- I know. I'm working on more, I just wanted to get the first chapter out ASAP so I could get feedback on how I'm writing these dorks before I get too far in. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio forming, Whiskey's POV.

   It sounded grim, but Connor was shocked that he and Tango were actually friends.

   Nothing against Tony, or himself, for that matter. He just didn't expect the kind, curious boy he'd met on their Taddy Tour to actually want to be friends with the quiet, background guy. Connor just found he didn't have a lot to say, really.

   He grew up in a very strict household, in which children should be seen and not heard, and no one spoke unless they were spoken to. Connor knew that in the real world, none of that made sense. But he couldn't help it. In his parents world he was seen as the perfect son. To everyone else, he was silent, brooding, standoffish, arrogant.

   But with Tango, Connor was just another 18 year old boy. Connor didn't have to worry about speaking when not spoken to, because Tango was always talking to him. What's more, he cared about what he was saying.

   After spending enough time with Tango -which was to say, most of his free time- Connor found himself considering Tony his best friend. It was then that he realized he'd never had one of those before. At least, not one as good as Tango.

* * *

   It wasn't until the first Kegster of the spring semester that Connor realized Tango felt similarly.

   Tango had been talking to a girl, and Connor was standing idily by sipping his tub juice. To Connor's absolute embarassment, Tango bought the girl over to him, smiling that excited smile of his.

   "Hey, Connor. This is Mindy." he greeted, then lookedd to the girl. "Mindy, this is my friend, Connor."

   The girl, Mindy, smiled to match Tony's, while Connor nodded politely. "Hey," he greeted before taking another drink.

   Mindy shuffled awkwardly. Connor drank in silence.

   Tony kept grinning, and won the best wingman award.

   "Mindy mentioned that she's a film major. She's taking the seminar you took last semester. Right, Mindy?" Tango urged. That must have been why he'd brought her over. Tony knew the few topics that would make Connor talk to anyone, and film was one of the biggest.

   Mindy's smile returned. "Yeah! It's been nice so far. Professor Kormic is a little intense, though."

   "He just gets worse. Wait until you dissect Shawshank Redemption. You'd think he lived it."

   Mindy laughed, and then Connor did an impression of Professor Kormic, and the next thing Connor knew they were making out in the Reading Room while the rest of the party began to wind down on the first floor.

   Tango was a good friend.

   When it came time to make room selections for the next year, Connor brought it up to Tony.

   "The room lottery is soon."

   Tango nodded, not looking up from the heavily annotated book he was stuck in. "Next week! Got to get on that."

   "Do you know who you want to live with?" Connor asked, his voice softer than usual.

   At that, Tango looked up. "What?"

   "Nevermind." Connor said quickly, looking back to his computer screen.

   "It's your business. You don't need to-"

   "Whiskey," Tony interrupted. Connor looked back up. "Aren't _we_ rooming together?"

   Connor blinked.

   Tony chuckled, smiling. "Man, you must have been more schwasted when we talked about it then I thought. Do you not want to?"

   "No, I do." Connor said, his mind racing. "I just... I didn't remember. I didn't know if you would want to."

   Tony gave him a friendly punch in the arm. "Man, come on. I requested you weeks ago on the housing site."

   "You did?"

   "Duh. Didn't want to miss my chance to live with my best bro.”

   A grin broke out on Connor’s face, and Tango clapped him on the shoulder.

   Connor opened the Samwell housing site on his computer and selected his best bro, Anthony Tangredi as his roommate for their sophomore year.

* * *

   His friendship with Ford was more straightforward.

   By the time he met her, he’d branched out a little more, thanks to Tango and Bitty and the rest of the SMH guys. And Ford wasn’t exactly subtle, either. From their first Mario Kart hang out, it was obvious they were all friends.

   A few weeks later, Ford asked him and Tango to come to the school’s production of Sweeney Todd that she was stage managing. Connor had thought it was funny that she had actually asked, since they both had already made plans to go. Most of the team went, but it had been Connor who had reminded them when the date approached.

   Connor and Tony had tossed some money together and got her flowers from Murder Stop & Shop.

   When she peeked our from behind the curtain after the show had ended and seen them standing there with them, Tango waved excitedly. She disappeared for a moment, and the next thing Whiskey knew there was a tiny girl by his side trying to crush him.

   The boys laughed, and he could have sworn Ford teared up a little. “People don’t usually bring flowers since I’m not on the stage.” she told them, smiling.

   “Yeah, we weren’t sure if it was a thing or not, but we decided we didn’t care.” Tango shrugged.

   Ford shuffled past Whiskey to hug Tango as well, and Connor grinned. He finally knew what all the hype about friends being happy for each other was about.

   It was funny. He’d never thought he’d been missing anything until he felt the hole fill inside him. It was overwhelmingly wonderful. Connor wrapped his arms around the other two.

    _He felt whole._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it's short- Whiskey is a man of little words for a reason... for me, the reason is that I'm not great at writing him yet.
> 
> The next chapter will be Ford's POV, and then we might get on to actual plot. Maybe.


	3. Oh, Brother.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foxtrot's turn! This is a bit later in their friendship than it is in the boys' chapters, but these are the moments I felt that really stood out for Ford. 
> 
> Warning: this chapter does contain homophobia! It's not as bad as it could be and it's just a few lines, but it is there.

    Denice Ford loved the boys with her whole heart. They were all perfect friends, because while they had been involved with the team about a semester and a half longer than her, they were all in the same year. She could ask them things without being intimidated- but they also already had the knowledge she was looking for. She quickly came to value them much more than anticipated. 

    She found that hockey players were shockingly similar to actors. They had their traditions and superstitions. They were loud, and dramatic. They swung wildly through a wide range of emotions. They both could be very physical. Just like with any of her actors, she learned what each team member needed from her so they could both do their best.

    However, unlike with any of her actors, Denice found herself getting increasingly attached to the boys- Whiskey and Tango in particular. Since they all had to schedule their classes around practices, they had decided to take a few of their GenEds together.  Other than their major classes and Denice’s theater activities, their schedules were pretty in-sync. Denice knew that Connor and Tony usually spent their free time together, so making the transition from the two of them to the three of them was pretty seamless. 

    Tony and Connor had a double room together in a 6 person suite with a few other SMH members that didn’t end up in the Haus, and Denice found herself in their room more than her own, often just crashing there due to her detestation of her roommates. When she wasn’t spending the night in the boys’ room, she was texting them complaining about her roommate, Angelica.

    Most of it was basic roommate issues, like Angelica not keeping her side as clean as Ford would like, or being sexiled at inconvenient times. But, about half way through the fall semester, she began to feel just plain uncomfortable. Angelica had showed up at a kegster the weekend before, and since she’d been acting different. Giving Denice weird looks, avoiding eye contact, giving her one word responses over text and in person.

    After a few days of weirdness, Ford was sick of it. “What’s up?” she asked. 

    “What?” Angelica asked.

    “You’ve been weird. Are we okay?” 

    Angelica looked like she was struggling with whether to tell Ford the truth or not, which only annoyed Ford further. 

    “If you tell me, maybe we can fix it.” she offered. 

    “It’s just…” Angelica began, “Look, if I’d known you were gay when housing was sorted, I wouldn’t have roomed with you.” 

    Ford blinked at her. “What?”

    “Well, I didn’t know. And, like, don’t get me wrong. It’s not about you. I’m just not comfortable-“

    “Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there. First off, I’m bisexual, not gay. Second, if I’d known you were homophobic, I wouldn’t have agreed to live with you.”

    Angelica scoffed. “I’m not homophobic. I love gay people, I just-“ 

    “Stop.” Ford took a deep breath. “I really don’t want to hear it, okay? You see me dancing with a girl at a party, and you think that’s a good enough reason to make me feel uncomfortable in my own living space?”

    “You’re the one making me uncomfortable in my living space!” 

    Ford rolled her eyes and put everything she’d been working on in her backpack. She thought about saying something more. There was a voice screaming inside of her to cuss Angelica out, or shout, or go to The Alliance and rant her heart out. But Denice took a deep breath, checked to make sure she had everything, and slammed the door on her way out. She went up to the boys’ room, flopped onto Connor’s empty bed, and cried until they’d gotten back. 

    “Ford! Are you okay?” Tony practically shouted when he turned on the light and saw her there. She looked up and saw he was rushing over to her, while Connor’s eyes were wide where he stood in the doorway. 

    “Angelica-“ she began, but her voice cracked, and fresh tears sprang to her eyes. Tony pulled her into his arms and let her cry, and shortly after she could hear Connor whispering beside her, telling her that they had her back. 

    Eventually, she’d calmed down enough to get the whole story out. She had never seen either of them so angry before, and was only able to stop Connor from “going up there to give her a talking to” by begging him to just stay and cuddle with them instead. 

    She suspected someone must have spoken to Angelica, though, because when she got back to her room after class the next day, Angelica didn’t say a word to her. It wasn’t much better, but at least she wasn’t getting any worse.

    About a week later, Ford got to the boys’ room and found that they’d turned Connor’s single bed into a bunk bed. 

    “Uh, guys?” She’d asked, analyzing the top bunk from her place in the door way. 

    Whiskey looked up at her from the desk and smiled. “Cool, huh?”

    “But why? You didn’t get a third roommate, did you?”

    Connor laughed, and she turned to him where he sat on the bottom bunk. “You’re close enough. The guys helped us sneak parts from the storage closet downstairs while the maintenance guy on duty was distracted.”

    “I was the distraction,” Tony clarified, as if Ford had doubted it for a second. 

    Ford had to look away from both of them to keep the tears out of her eyes. She looked up to the bed- it was even made, and there was a pillow on it, too. “I have the best roomies ever,” she grinned.

    The next moment, she felt familiar arms wrapping around her as Tango gave her a sweet hug before tackling her gently (which sounds impossible but she’s found hockey players are surprisingly good at?) onto Connor’s bed. She could hear both their laughter around her. God, she loved them. 

 

* * *

 

    Denice found her first semester as SMH manager to be… well, let’s say challenging. 

    It wasn’t that the boys were difficult. On the contrary, she loved every second she spent with them. Even when everything was chaos, or when she was on the edge of her seat trying not to break her clipboard in half while watching a close game. 

    No, what was hard about managing SMH was that they all reminded her so much of her brothers that her homesickness than ever. 

   Every time she cooked with Bitty and Dex, did homework with the Waffles, or lectured Einhardt for leaving the seat up in the suite bathroom again - not only did she miss Elijah and Jordan, but she felt like she was replacing them. 

    The worst part was, there was nothing she could do about it. Jordan was studying abroad in London this semester, and Elijah was busy with his Navy duties, so they were both practically unreachable. They had a siblings group chat, but with time differences and how busy the boys were it was usually just Denice sending funny stories from her day, or photos and videos of the SMH crew. Elijah responded more often than Jordan did, since Jordan needed WiFi to be able to connect, but generally the boys could only talk when Denice was in class or asleep. 

    “Damn it,” Denice grumbled, squinting at her phone one morning. 

    A hand was in her face suddenly, waving her glasses in front of her. “I’m going to make you a shelf for these before I wake up one morning and handicap the both of us by stepping on them.” Connor said, smirking. He was only a bit shorter than her bunk, just tall enough to rest his chin on her mattress while he stood. 

    Denice put them on and gave him a look. “Okay, I’ll have Dexmake you a shelf.” he corrected, and she chuckled. 

    “Your phone was going off early this morning, Den.” Connor told her. “Like, before I went on my run, early.” 

    She sighed, hopping down from her bunk. “Yeah, I saw.” 

    She felt Connor’s eyes on her as she shuffled around getting ready, but she knew he wouldn’t pry. He always left the questions to Tony. To some people, Connor would come off as uninterested. To others, he’d seem all-knowing, the only boy who knew exactly when to push and when not to. But Denice really knew him, meaning she knew that he was so afraid of upsetting people by overstepping boundaries that he avoided them completely. He’d never say anything unless others brought it up first. It was one of her favorite things about him, but also one of the things she worried most about. One day she hoped they’d be close enough to know why he was so afraid of crossing lines, and get to where he and Tony were quickly approaching, where the lines seemed to be dissolving altogether. 

    At practice that morning, Denice left her phone in her bag. It was just her, her boys, and her clipboard. She thanked the Lord for Derek Nurse shoving a “Manager Needed” flier in her hand last spring, because this job was exactly what she needed, even if it also was part of her problem. 

    For a whole blissful hour, her life was just Hockey. Connor made some incredible shots, Tony seemed to be getting faster every time he was on the ice, and Nursey and Dex were in perfect sync. It was a Good Practice. 

    She, Bitty, and Chowder went for post-practice coffee at Annie’s like they did every Tuesday and Thursday since none of them had early classes those days. Her bliss lasted a little bit longer, as they went over her notes from practice. This was one of her favorite things about her job. Analyzing things was something she really loved, but with hockey there was only so much insight she could have since she wasn’t a player. Even with stage management, she had gone through all the training her actors and tech did, and had done each job at least once. Hockey came harder, since she could barely stand on skates with gear on. Talking with Bitty and Chowder after each game and practice allowed her to make connections she couldn’t have without them. 

    Shop talk ended soon enough, though, and faded into team gossip. Which, generally, Denice loved, especially with Bitty and Chowder. However, when it pertained to Tony and Connor, she was less fond. 

    “Whiskey seemed a little off in the locker room. Did something happen this morning?” Chowder asked lightly. 

    Denice shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s nothing. He’s just being dramatic.” which was entirely the truth, but judging by Bitty’s raised eyebrows and the small frown on Chowder’s face, they didn’t think so.

    “You don’t have to tell us, of course.” Bitty assured her. “It’s clearly not affecting his game, or yours. But we are here, if you want to talk about it.”

    It was his reassurance that cracked her. Something about knowing that they were asking out of concern and nothing else. 

    Denice took a long drink from her coffee before saying, “It’s more about me than Connor. If he looked off it was probably just because he was too in his head about it. But, what else is new?” she let out a half laugh at her friend’s bad habit. They were working on it, the three of them together, but they knew it would take a long time before Connor stopped feeling like everything in his life was his own fault. 

    “It’s really not a big deal. I just missed my brothers being active in our family group chat again. Connor heard my phone going off real early and I wouldn’t explain so who knows what he thought it was. He’s probably just worried because I wouldn’t tell him.” Denice explained. It felt dumb once it was all said. The boys had clearly all thought it was something mysterious and important. She should have just told Connor this morning and saved everyone the hassle. 

    Chowder’s frown deepened, though. “I didn’t think you and your brothers spoke.” 

    At Denice’s widened eyes, Bitty jumped in. “You don’t talk about them a lot, honey. The only reason I even know you have siblings is because you mentioned them in your interview.” 

    She was stunned silent. Did she really not talk about them? She distinctly recalled having a conversation with Dex about big families and siblings. She had a picture of herself with her brothers from when they first dropped Jordan off at college, and one of herself and Elijah in his Navy uniform from before he’d left. But Chowder, one of the people she was closest with, hadn’t known she talked to them. 

    “Well, I guess we don’t talk, really. But it’s not for lack of wanting or trying. It’s just really difficult.” Denice said finally. “I don’t talk about them a lot because it makes me miss them more.”

    Chowder, who was beside her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Ford. I didn’t mean to pry. You don’t have to talk about them.”

    She smiled up at him. “It’s alright, you didn’t know. Talking about them might be good, just maybe not today.”

    “I’m glad you told us, Denice. The more the team knows about you, the easier it is for us to have your back.” Bitty reminded her. God, she loved her captain. 

    “I know, Bits. Thank you.” she grinned, hugging Chowder tight around his middle. “Now, second round to go, on me?” 

    The boys gave enthusiastic nods, and she headed towards the counter while they packed up their things. She brought back their orders and Chowder handed her bag to her, all packed up. 

    “You know, Foxtrot,” Chowder began, “you should tell Whiskey what you told us. I’m sure he’d feel better knowing it’s nothing serious.”

    Denice sighed. “I know. Poor guy probably thinks he did something to upset me.” 

    “It’s sweet he’s worried, though. And that he knows you enough to notice something was wrong.” Bitty offered.

    Chowder perked up. “Yeah, he cares about you a lot. Tango, too. It’s really nice to see you three together.” 

    “They’re great,” Denice grinned, “You all are. I’m really glad I found a place with you guys.”

    “Oh, honey, we are too.” Bitty grinned. 

    Denice’s phone went off in her pocket signaling it was time to head to class, and she bid the boys farewell. 

    Chowder looked at Bitty as Ford headed towards campus. “So, what do we think?”

    “She’s just as oblivious as they are, I think.” Bitty sighed. 

    Chowder slung his bag over his shoulder. “There must be a clueless clause in the bylaws we don’t know about.”

    Bitty looked up at him. “Should we do something?” 

    “Nah,” Chowder said, “We don’t want to screw with their timeline. They’ll figure it out on their own eventually.”

    Bitty’s brows furrowed and Chowder grinned at him. “You’re such a goalie.” 

Denice didn’t get a chance to talk to Connor until after practice that night, but as they walked back to their dorm with Tony she told both of them everything. About her talk with Bitty and Chowder, and about how touchy a subject her brothers felt like lately with how much she was missing them. 

    “So, in short,” she said, flopping onto Tony’s bed. “It wasn’t anything serious, and it definitely wasn’t about you, and I’m sorry if I made you worry about either of those things.” 

    Connor sat down beside her, and Tony sat in his desk chair facing them. “It’s alright. I had figured, or hoped, anyway- that you’d tell us if something really serious was going on.”

    “And we all know you don’t hesitate to tell us when we do things to upset you.” Tony chimed in, smirking. Denice tossed a pillow at him, which he skillfully caught and tossed back at her. It landed right on her face, and they all ended up on the floor laughing. 

Two weeks later, Ford is sitting down in the bus seat she’s hoping to nap in on the way to their game when Nursey places his laptop into her lap. She blinks up at him. “What is this?”

    Nursey grins at her, but says nothing. It’s Dex who speaks up from beside him, handing her a small device and a pair of headphones. “You’ll want to put those on, and keep the hotspot next to you so you don’t lose signal while we’re on the road.” 

    “Okay, that explained literally nothing. What is going on, guys?” 

   Connor and Tony are turned around in the seats in front of her, just grinning. Looking past them, she can see that most of the team keep turning their heads to look at her. “If this is some kind of weird prank, I’m really not awake enough to-“

    The computer begins to ring. She looks down at the screen and sees a FaceTime request coming in. “Nursey, someone’s-“ instead of taking the computer from her, he reaches down and clicks ACCEPT. She’s still looking up at him, thoroughly confused, until she hears her brothers voices. 

    “Nenie!” Elijah is calling in his booming voice. Shocked, Denice looks down at the computer to find both her brothers looking back at her. She can’t do more than stare. When she looks back up from the computer, looking for an explanation, Dex and Nursey are back in their seats a few rows ahead of her, and everyone else is settling in, not paying her any mind. 

    She plugs the headphones into the computer and puts them on quickly. “How? What?” is all she can manage, and her brothers laugh at her for it. 

    “You’ve got some pretty spectacular friends, that’s how, Nenie.” Jordan grinned. 

    “Damn right. I must’ve gotten thirty messages from that Tony kid.” Elijah laughed. Denice found herself laughing, too, though it was more disbelief than humor. 

    Elijah got closer to the screen and frowned in that stern way she was so familiar with. “Hey, now. No waterworks.”

    She hadn’t even realized she was crying until he’d said that, and she wiped at her eyes quickly. “Sorry. I’m just so surprised.”

    “So were we, kid. Getting a call from a 617 number scared the hell out of me since I knew it had to be about you. Come to find some guy named Whisk on the other line- the hell kind of name is that, by the way? -saying my sister is homesick.” Elijah says, chuckling the whole way through. 

    “Isn’t he the one you said doesn’t talk much, Nenie? Cause he had no problem chewing me out for being too busy to call regularly.” Jordan says, smirking. 

    Denice’s jaw falls open, and she glances up at the seats in front of her where she can see Tony’s head resting on Connor’s shoulder. “They’re my best friends. The ones that built me a bunk in their room, remember?”

    Her brothers nodded, grinning. The siblings talked for an hour, until it was finally time for Jordan to go to bed, and Elijah to work. When they hang up, there are a few tears on each end, and a stern order from Elijah to make sure they call more often. When Ford closes Nursey’s computer and takes off the headphones, Connor and Tony turn around in their seats to grin at her. 

    “You boys are absolutely ridiculous and I love you so much for it.” she tells them. 

    “We love you too, Nenie.” Tony smirks. 

    “This is the only time you’re getting away with that, Tangredi.” Denice points at him. “Now take this back to Nursey so I can nap before we kick Yale’s ass.” 

    Connor takes the computer and Tony salutes her before she curls up in her seat and drifts off with a smile on her face. 

    Once the bus is parked, she makes sure to thank the whole team, knowing that even those that weren’t directly involved at the very least kept their mouths shut, which she appreciated. That night, they went on to kick Yale’s ass on the ice. The next morning, Bitty who was intended to be Ford’s roommate called her when he noticed her bed didn’t look slept in.  She answered quickly and assured him that she was fine, having just fallen asleep in Connor and Tony's room by accident. After hanging up, she climbed back into bed with her sleeping friends and fit between them like it was the only place she was ever supposed to be. She just fit, snuggled into them, and that was that. At least until they woke up an hour later and scrambled for the bus, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! 
> 
> You may have noticed that this is the last chapter in this fic- woooo! 
> 
> I decided that I want to turn the overarching story I originally intended for them into a series, with this as the first fic of many. I hope to get the second one up soon, and that you all join me in following WTF's story.


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